Kristin Asbjørnsen performing with the Ladysmith Black Mambazo's. Photo: Tone S. OlsenThe unique “Back to eKasi” concert tour celebrated in an unforgettable way the anniversaries of both Ladysmith Black Mambazo and their leader Prof. Joseph Shabalala, as well as South African-Norwegian Music Cooperation Mmino.
“eKasi” is slang for “home”, origin from the Afrikaans word lokasie meaning “township”, and the idea was to bring the celebration and music to the people. “This is not an evening for the wealthy elites in the big cities of the world, but for the people of the areas where this music originated and developed”, Norway’s Ambassador to South Africa HE Mr. Tor Christian Hildan announced when he attended the Thokoza concert.
South African-Norwegian cooperation
“Back to eKasi” was mainly sponsored by Mmino, the South African-Norwegian Music Education and Exchange Cooperation, funded by the Norwegian Embassy and the SA National Arts Council. Mmino is working on promoting indigenous South African live music while trying to forge the re-kindling of a live circuit in South Africa. “Music is at the heart of our cultural cooperation. We share common values and see the importance of music in cross-cultural communication as a powerful tool to address demanding social, economic and political issues” HE Ambassador Hildan said, and continued; “In this spirit I congratulate Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Joseph Shabalala and Mmino – and I am proud to introduce our own Kristin Asbjørnsen to South African audiences through this unique township tour.”
Back to the roots
South African male ensemble Ladysmith Black Mambazo was formed by Prof. Joseph Shabalala in the early 60’s in the town Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal. Their music roots lies in the vocal style of Isicathamiya, from the Zulu word meaning "to walk softly”, a vocal style that falls under the a capella genre and focuses on deft harmonising. In 1986 Ladysmith Black Mambazo gained international fame and recognition when they cooperated with Paul Simon on his album Graceland. Since then have Ladysmith Black Mambazo been the international ambassadors of South African native music tradition and the sound of South African gospel music, collaborating with big international artists and winning three Grammy Awards along the way. Their global popularity unfortunately has meant that their fans back home rarely have had the opportunity to see and hear the group live. This made the eKasi Tour even more special.
Two local groups at each venue acted as curtain raisers. These talented local artists warmed up the audience with their amazing voices and dance moves before Ladysmith Black Mambazo and their youthful 70 years old leader Prof. Joseph Shabalala entered the stage.
The local Thokoza group African Music Bombers. Photo: Tone S. OlsenAccompanying the Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s where Norwegian singer and songwriter Kristin Asbjørnsen. Kristin’s music roots lies in the groove-based music world, and she uses poems for her music in addition to writing her own lyrics. For many years she played the core role in the music ensemble Dadafon and Krøyt, and in the vocal experimentation-oriented quartet Kvitretten.
Together, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Kristin Asbjørnsen gave the South African people lively and energetic performances, singing traditional African songs as well as old and new Ladysmith Black Mambazo hits. What an unforgettable birthday celebration!